Contemporary or Liturgical Worship?

Zion Lutheran Church of Tomball, TX., the church I've been serving during this past year, is committed to the historic liturgy that has been a part of the Lutheran church since before the sixteenth century Reformation. The reformers insisted on keeping that liturgy even while making some much needed corrections. 

Undoubtedly, the question of "worship styles" will continue to be near the forefront of Zion's work in the coming years—especially since several Lutheran churches in the area continue to push the "contemporary" button. 

I found an article from Christianity Today that talks about the "deeper relevance" of liturgy: http://bit.ly/1Bdg962

The article's author suggests how churches that promote so-called "contemporary" worship may view liturgical churches like Zion . . .

Liturgical worship leaders wear medieval robes and guide the congregation through a ritual that is anything but spontaneous. They lead music that is hundreds of years old, prayers that are scripted and a sermon based on a 2,000 year old book. The high point of the service seems to be the Lord's Supper—all of which seems irrelevant to what's really going on in the world.

Here's a description from the article of an Ybor City, FLA church called Relevant Christian Church:

"Our service is designed specifically for college students, urban professionals and young families. At Relevant, we feel that it's our responsibility to "clear the way" for you to come to church. We want you to be able to experience the great music, encouraging messages, friendly people and enjoyable atmosphere that are a part of Relevant."

Is that what our neighboring "contemporary" churches are saying? It seems to be.

In turn, Liturgical churches, says the article, force us all to rethink some very important things: 

• what is meant by relevant?
• that the liturgy transcends our time and place and connects us to the church catholic
• that the liturgy separates us from the world's culture
• keeps us from becoming distracted by that culture
• invites us into the culture of the Triune God and His kingdom
• that the pattern of the liturgy—its rhythm—Word followed by Sacrament is a holy pattern 
• that the world's culture must not be allowed to reshape the form and meaning of our worship
• yet the people in a given culture have freedom and variety within the basic structure of that liturgy. 

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I've read a number of the sainted Robert E Webber's books. He took his ThD from Concordia Sem., St. Louis, but was never a Lutheran. Nevertheless, he has much to teach. 

One book of his that I have in my Kindle library is Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God's Narrative. 

He calls for "Evangelicals" to take seriously the visible character of the church. He calls for them to turn away from an individualism that makes the Church a mere addendum to God's redemptive plan.

 "Individualistic Evangelicalism has contributed to the current problems of churchless Christianity, redefinitions of the Church according to business models, separatist ecclesiologies and judgmental attitudes toward the Church. Therefore we call Evangelicals to recover their place in the community of the Church catholic."

He also criticizes "the self as the source of worship." Such worship, he writes, has resulted in lecture-oriented, music-driven, performance-centered and program-controlled models that do not adequately proclaim God's cosmic redemption. 

Read the book. It is not difficult, but hits the target much of the time. 

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